Almost 24 million employees have admitted to taking property from work or making exaggerated expense claims, according to new research.
The survey, commissioned by insurer Royal & Sun Alliance (R&SA) found that this staggering figure amounted to over 80% of British workers.
Of these, a quarter of a million had taken a laptop from work and not returned it, while almost one in seven had exaggerated their expense claims, which amounts to half a million workers a day.
Furthermore, over a million employees steal stationary from their office at least once a week.
Reasons cited for stealing were varied – nearly a million said that they considered it to be their property, while 4% said they would steal to spite their company.
“Our research has shown that taking work property home and making false claims is very common in the workplace,” said Jon Woodman, trading director of Broker, R&SA.
“Per worker, thefts are mostly of small items, but given that 82% of people who work have admitted to pilfering from the workplace, the overall impact on a business could be significant.”
He added: “We advise businesses to be aware of the actions of their employees. Policies can be enforced which encourage employers to respect company property or sign in and out materials such as laptops.”
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2008
